I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shipping carriers for components.
II. Description of Related Art
Shipping carriers are oftentimes used to ship manufacturing components from the place of their manufacture and to their place of assembly. For example, in the automotive industry, many of the individual components of the automotive vehicles, such as vehicle panels and vehicle panel components, are manufactured in one location and then shipped to a different location for their assembly on the automotive vehicle.
The previously known shipping carriers typically comprise a frame made of metal tubing. An elongated retainer is attached to one or more of the tubes while dunnage made of a compressible material is then attached to the retainer. Furthermore, the dunnage includes a plurality of spaced-apart recesses which are dimensioned to receive and support an edge of a component.
The dunnage is typically made of a urethane material although other materials may be alternatively used.
One disadvantage of the previously known shipping carriers, however, is that the components being shipped may include a sharp edge alone one side of the portion that is received within the dunnage recesses. For example, if the shipping carrier is used to transport automotive body panels, the body panels, which are typically formed by stamping, oftentimes have a sharp outer edge on one side and a smooth finish on the other or “A” surface.
The sharp outer edges of the components that are shipped by the shipping carrier oftentimes impact on one side of the dunnage recess when the components are loaded into the shipping carrier. When this occurs, the sharp edges can tear, abrade, or otherwise damage the dunnage.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known shipping carriers is that it has not been possible to attach subcomponents to the dunnage. Such subcomponents could comprise, for example, a bracket having a locating hole which engages a locating pin on the transported item, a loop-and-pile strap, and the like.